Homines Nocturnae
by Cornuthaum
Summary: 'Of the Vampire, it is said that he embraces the lack of morals his newfound immortality brings, and becomes a plague unto mankind'. Seras has always considered this piece of advice to be deeply, fundamentally wrong.


Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would have the money to buy all the bacon I wanted. But I don't. So, no bacon.

-

Hunger. Thirst. Hunger! Thirst! HUNGER! THIRST! HUNGERTHIRSTHUNGERTHIRST**HUNGERRRRRRRRRRRRRR**

The girl wakes with a scream, sitting up.

Attempting to sit up. Her head crashes into something. It's dark. It's cold. Oh gods, she's shut in!

The girl panics for a moment. But only for a moment.

Memories. They bubble up from the depths of her mind, and she giggles at her own actions.

After all, is it not appropriate for a vampire to lie in a coffin?

A deft motion has the lid rising, and so does she. How swift she moves, if she wants to.

But why does she want to?

She just can't seem to remember... but her body knows. By the time she is back in the land of consciously acting beings, she is sitting down at that damnable table in her room.

And that can only mean one single thing, she has time to think, before it hits her.

-**HUNGER!-THIRST!-CRAVING!**

It is painful. It is ecstatic. It is transcendent agony.

She has no words for what she feels, and she doesn't think she ever will have any.

But she suppressed the ache rippling through her body through pure force of will.

She refuses to do what both her masters demand she do. What her body demands with every fiber and cell.

Because she is still human. No, a voice that sounds entirely too much like her own says. You are a monster. A human monster, maybe? she thinks back.

And then it almost happened. She would almost have taken that spoon into her mouth, and then every moment of pain, all the sleepless days and nights would have been for nothing.

And she would have become something she does not want to be.

Frustrated, she crawls back into her coffin and listens to the whine of the gears as the lid slowly descends over the regal coffin-bed of hers.

-

She walks the streets, trying to clear her mind from thoughts that have no place there.

Walking amongst the crowds always helped her with working out problems before.

Not so, not any more, not after what he did to her that time under the full moon.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

The heartbeat of the man next to her is so loud it's almost painful to her hyperaware senses.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

And with every heartbeat she can hear the blood rushing through his veins.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

For a second she sees the man like she believes her Master to see things.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

Oh gods, her knees are getting weak, and she can FEEL herself salivating at the mere thought of ...

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

No. She will not. Not even think about biting and drinking and feeding that burning ...

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

She did it. She barely manages to lean against the nearest wall. The man is gone, now. She can't hear his heart beating any more.

Lucky her.

-

Again she wakes. Not from ... that, no, she won't think it no no no ... but from the wail of the alarm siren.

Wait, what? Alarm siren? But that would mean someone is attacking the manor.

Attacking the manor! With the Master present! What are these fools, to throw away their lives in such a way?

Nonetheless, she rushes to do her duty.

Duty. Always duty. In life and beyond, duty. To serve and protect, in so many different ways.

Fire, fire, fire, duck, fall back, fire.

Repeat.

The old man is an engine of destruction. Woah. Master was right, she thinks. His "ruthless" side.

But there is no time to think. Bodyparts go flying, either from her gun - she refuses to call it a cannon, no matter what Master and the old man say - or from the old man's wires.

No mercy. No surrender. Full power, total destruction. Victory is assured.

Then she and the old man deal with that suicidal freak. Trading an arm for a chance to attack her Mistress?

Fool.

But...

Oh gods. No. No. Not again. Isn't it enough for anyone to go through this nightmare once?

The corpses of your friends, your teammates coming to life? Shambling towards you with razor-teeth and grasping hands, only aiming to devour your body?

She can't bring herself to attack them. She couldn't the first time, she can't do it now and oh gods they're upon her and grasping and grabbing and slobbering all over her as they prepare to ...

And then her concentration breaks, a lapse in willpower brought about by the horror of being buried under the shambling corpses of her former friends.

HUNGER. THIRST. CRAVING. RAGE. FURY. POWER.

The girl stops being a girl and becomes the Queen of the Night.

Skulls pop. Limbs go flying. Ribcages cave in like wet cardboard. Spines break like dry twigs.

And suddenly someone embraces her. Words... someone is asking her to stop.

Stop doing what?

Then she notices something odd. Sticky, even.

Blood. It covers her.

None of it her own, she instinctively knows.

And then she watches her Mistress strangle her own humanity to fight as monsters do.

-

The replacements have arrived.

The attraction she feels for their leader is instant and powerful. Even though he is just a mortal...

And as she thinks that horrible traitorous thought, she can hear it.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

She even makes him bleed.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

Flick. Flick. Flick your finger, girl. Watch him fly, watch him stagger, watch him bleed. Blood. Oh gods, the smell, she's going crazy, she can feel it and oh gods nonono...

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

The Master arrives. Her craving recedes. Why does his presence do that to her?

She doesn't know. Doesn't WANT to know. But he does.

-

War. Battle. It is upon them once more.

They have attacked her Master. But he commands her to stay back, and so she does.

How ANGRY he is when the last of the mortals puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger.

Master leaves... leaves her and the carnage he has caused.

So much blood. But there is no hunger. She can even think about it. Why? Why doesn't it hit her like it does at home, that terrible craving?

Dimly, she is aware of Master's fight with the other vampire. It is a battle of ruthless Afterlife Kings. Mortal extras explode, get cut to pieces, impaled - oh gods, Master, why must you be so OBVIOUS about who you are - shredded and torn apart.

The carnage is immense. The battle is intense.

Blood. It never bothers her when she's around Master.

Master! In danger. She thinks so. The gun and cannon both jerk in her hands. Unmoving monstrous hands.

And then Master is upon the fool that fought him and starts to feed and oh gods OH GODS ohhhh...

She hasn't felt like this in a long time, not since before Master turned her.

Bliss. Oh gods. Just as Master suppresses her craving, watching him feed is bliss and lust and power and oh gods THE HUNGER ...

She can feel herself inching closer ... and closer ... oh gods not here not in the open where the Mercenary can see her oh...

And then it's over and Master is laughing his insane laugh, the resplendent King in Crimson.

-

To fight. It's all she does these days. Fight and hunt and kill and never show any mercy to the impure dead.

And now they wage war upon the girl and the Mercenary and Master and Mistress and their very country.

And then the Mercenary shows that he is worth every penny Mistress paid him.

Crackle-BOOM. Crackle-BOOM. They are blown to smithereens.

And then, the illusion. A monster. A true vampire. Distracting the mortals in the manor.

The girl acts.

BOOM. Her cannon rips a gash into the monster's cheek.

Too little. Too late.

The enemy is upon them now.

The Mercenary does what he always does. Smile, try to kiss her and oh gods isn't she ever tempted to do it but no she has to keep up appearances even in this situation.

They are soldiers. And so they fight on.

He makes her promise to come back alive.

Silly Mercenary. He is the one who should worry about surviving, a Man amongst Monsters.

But her allies die. They are just mortals.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. Ba-du...

Another heartbeat stops.

She cannot bear this any longer.

Her cannons saw through the building and the enemy lines like Master usually does to the impure dead.

Impure dead, ha! All of them, herself, Master, the enemy, that crazy scythe-bitch. Impure dead.

-

Illusion. She knows it. It can't be real. It is the past.

There is no hunger.

There is no thirst.

Only memories.

Oh gods they hurt almost as much as the hunger does.

Blood.

Her own.

Oh gods her arm her eyes her control is slipping no no no no...

Her left arm is gone. She can feel the blood pouring out of the ragged stump.

Her eyes are slashed, useless. But she can SEE the Mercenary as he stands, bleeding, defiant, in the face of a foe that just took HER down.

What chance does he have?

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

But he fights and he shoots her and oh gods she can feel herself flush despite bleeding so much.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

Undeath does the strangest things to her, she muses despite the pain.

-

The Mercenary is dying. For her. She can feel it.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

Bullets have pierced him all over.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

The madwoman's scythe has hacked into him.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

He kisses her. She knew he would try. She did not move.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

He deserves that much.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

He laughs. He offers her his life. His blood. Himself.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

He knows what will happen to him if she does it. Why. Why do humans do this?

Ba-Dump. Ba-Dump..

She can hear his thoughts as he dies. He thinks of her. Of her wounds. Not his own.

ba-dump.

Silly man. Heroic foolish silly idiot oh gods why did you do this for me...

ba...

Dimly she hears the madwoman insult him. Insult her. Insult their comrades.

No forgiveness.

No hesitation.

No self-control, no, never again.

**HUNGER THIRST HUNGER THIRST **

Her teeth grow and she sinks them into the Mercenary's throat.

Oh gods why did she deny herself that before, this feeling oh gods mmmh so tasty so wonderful so glorious so bloody oh Master now I finally understand ooooohhh...

And deep down she can hear him, feel him. He is with her and will be forever with her.

And as her eyes heal and open, burning with the fury of the No Life Queen, as her shadow arm takes form, Seras Victoria falls in love with Pip Bernadotte all over again.

And they have eternity now.


End file.
